At the moment I am living with my parents in Hanworth, Middlesex a town only a couple of miles from Richmond where the UK Mills & Boon office is based. I have lived there all my life, but this year I have decided that it’s time to fly the nest (and the nagging!) and look for a place of my own! I will be looking in the local area for somewhere close to work, and my parents, incase I’m ever in need of a home-cooked meal!

What is the last non-job related book you read?

P.S. I Love You by Irish author Cecelia Ahern. It was recently made into a film of the same title starring Hilary Swank as the heroine, Holly Kennedy, and the gorgeous Gerard Butler, who plays her on-screen husband, Gerry. It was recommended to me by a friend and I found myself crying all the way through, and incurring some rather dodgy looks on the train! It was a heart-warming, life affirming story and a real page-turner!

Who are your favourite authors?

Having studied English Literature at school and university I’m a huge fan of the classics: Jane Austen, The Brontës and Charles Dickens. My more contemporary favourites include Irish author Marian Keyes, who writes funny, witty chick-lit stories that always make me laugh. I also admire the ability of authors such as J K Rowling (Harry Potter series) and Philip Pullman (His Dark Materials trilogy) to create a whole new fantasy world that has captured readers’ imaginations across the globe. They offer readers a chance to escape into a world where anything is possible and transcend boundaries in their appeal to both adults and children. As you can probably tell I read quite widely!

What’s your favourite food/ guilty pleasure?

My guilty pleasure has to be carrot cake! I never seem to be able to say no to a slice (or two!) and also, (the downfall of many women) chocolate!

What is your favourite tv show? Do you have a favourite actor?

My taste in TV shows is quite varied. At the moment I’m enjoying The Apprentice, which is a UK show where multi-millionaire, Alan Sugar, is looking for a new apprentice and several contestants must carry out tasks he sets in order to win the coveted position. Also Desperate Housewives, which is conveniently on on the same night. I’m finding the fourth series the funniest yet!

On a different tack I do enjoy some of the more action-packed series such as Prison Break and 24, no doubt the gorgeous male leads have something to do with it…

While the actors in all these shows are excellent, in terms of my favourite actor, I automatically think of film stars. Johnny Depp (Edward Scissorhands, Pirates of the Caribbean) is my firm favourite. He has classic good looks and, has starred in a quirky mix of films and makes every role his own.

What is your dream vacation?I would love to see more of Europe; take a gondola ride in Venice, see the Colosseum in Rome, the Acropolis in Athens…the list is endless! What’s something your colleagues don’t know about you?

I have been lucky enough to do quite a lot of traveling around South East Asia, China, Hong Kong and the Philippines, which has been an amazing experience.

Who would you most like to meet, living or dead?

Jane Austen would be a very interesting person to meet. I would love to know what life was like in the eighteenth century and where the inspiration for her stories and characters came from, and if a man like Mr Darcy really did exist!

What did you do before becoming an Editorial Assistant for Mills and Boon?

I was working towards my Masters degree in Popular Literatures. I made the decision to continue studying for another year after finishing my Bachelor degree, mainly to pursue my interest in genre fiction. It was a challenging course but really enjoyable too!What do you look for from your authors?

The protagonists need to be particularly well drawn so that they are both apsirational and believable. As a reader, my favourite stories are always the ones where I fall in love with the hero and want to be the heroine! A strong emotional conflict is also key to driving a story forward and keeping the reader gripped, and more often than not brings a tear to my eye! I have been blown away by the quality and variety of the editorial I have read since starting work at Harlequin Mills & Boon.

What do you think makes the Romance line so special?

For me, it’s the deeply emotional content of the stories that keep me gripped, and the heroes, who I believe are sexier, because they are not afraid to let down their guard and show some emotion!

Any strong emotional conflict either in the hero or heroine’s past or in the front story. I really like the way the hero and heroine help to heal each others hearts in the course of a story and watching the characters growth on the page, particularly when a character gains the confidence to stand up to a domineering or repressive force in their life or to express their true feelings when they are not sure of the response they will get. And of course anything with an adorable little baby involved tugs at my heart strings.

How many manuscripts do you read in a week?

At the moment, as I am still relatively new to the company, two-three, though I am sure this number will go up as I gain more experience and begin working with my own authors.

And finally, Carly, what has it been like joining the Romance team during such an important time – celebrating the company’s Centenary?

It is very exciting joining Harlequin Mills & Boon in its centenary year and being part of a company with such a long and interesting history. The company is in a unique position in that its stories provide a barometer of the changes in our culture and society over the last century; from the increasing explicitness of sexual content in the Modern/Presents line, to the emancipation of its heroines from the home to the workplace.

The media coverage in the UK has been huge with features in the National press and television coverage. When I came for my interview there was even a film crew outside the building! I have been proud to tell my family and friends who have seen it, that that’s the company I work for!

There are lots of exciting things happening in the Mills & Boon/Harlequin Romance series this year, notably The Wedding Planners continuity, and it has been good to see authors working together and what they have come up with. I am looking forward to seeing what other great ideas and stories our authors come up with in Harlequin Mills & Boon’s 101 year!

(the Romance team from left to right: Carly Corcoran, Kimberly Young, and Meg Sleightholme)

Wow, thank you Carly for taking time out of your week to be with us!

And for you, the readers - don't forget to send an e-mail to hrablog@hotmail.com with the subject line Barbara to enter to win a signed copy of her current release, The Pregnancy Promise!

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

This month's spotlight is with Barbara McMahon, whose latest release, The Pregnancy Promise, features a unique twist on the twin relationship!

Thanks for joining us, Barbara!

Where do you find new and fresh ideas?

Hard to answer--everywhere. I had the inspiration for DADDY AND DAUGHTERS from seeing a really cute young man with a toddler. No wife in evidence. Another--ONE STUBBORN COWBOY is about a crippled rodeo rider. I got that idea when I came out of the supermarket one day and say a rugged cowboy sitting in a truck in a handicap space--wheelchair in the back. Sometimes a song, a picture, or just by watching people.

Writers often use photos of celebrities as “casting”. Do you do this, and who has inspired some of your characters?

No, I usually picture them in my mind. Once finished a book, sometimes I’ll look for a photo that matches what I’ve envisioned to send to the art department. They rarely use them, however, and most of the time I don’t recognize the people on the cover as the same as the way I imagined the hero and heroine to look.

What are your favourite and least favourite parts of writing a novel? Is there a particular section that you struggle with?

I love starting and ending a novel. It’s so exciting to begin the story and get to know the character and start the conflict and motivation part. But the middle always slows me down. I know where I want to go, but getting there sometimes is a chore. I write linearly so don’t jump around. That’s part of what drives me, I want to get to scenes I’ve seen in my head and have to transition to get there. Friends who write scenes as they come and then put them together later are a marvel to me. I’d have all the fun with the scenes I really liked and then skip the transitions, which, for me, would mean no book.

When you are not writing, what do you do? How do you pamper yourself?

I’m very involved in our county’s (rural county) genealogy group and in the Daughters of the American Revolution. I love researching family history, whether it’s mine or someone else’s. A friend of mine and I are also transcribing all the old tombstones in our historic cemeteries. (We live in Gold Rush country in California.) There are no records for those old cemeteries and the stones are wearing out fast. We are capturing what we can, mapping them, so future genealogists can find ancestors buried in our county.

My idea of a pampered day is to sleep late, like 8 o’clock which is late for me. Have a nice breakfast on the deck, and then sit in a comfy chair and read. I don’t read much while writing, so between projects, I read constantly.

Imagine you’re stranded - where are you and who are you with?

I’d love to be stranded on a deserted island in the middle of a tropical sea, with plenty of food and water. I’d have my family there with me, especially my adorable grandchildren, and maybe a couple of good friends. I’d also want pad and pencil as I can’t be away from writing for too long without needing to jot down ideas and notes.

Finally, Barbara, please tell us what’s up and coming for you in the months ahead!

This month’s book, (June) THE PREGNANCY PROMISE, is the first of two linked books. In July, PARENTS IN TRAINING will be published. The heroines of the books are twins. I love twin stories and am fascinated with how two people can look alike and be different.

I’m currently working on another book that will be out early next year but the title and pub dates haven’t been set. That one I’m calling Baby Lost, Baby Found. After that I’m writing about a fabulously wealthy Greek playboy and a woman who returns to Greece to find her family. And then I’m doing a book about a hot air balloon race across Spain. I have plenty to keep me busy over the next months.

If you want a chance to win Barbara's June book, THE PREGNANCY PROMISE, just send an e-mail to hrablog@hotmail.com with the subject line of Barbara and we'll do the draw at the end of the month!

Tuesday, June 03, 2008

Lianne O'Mallory is longing to have a baby, but time is running out! She's even created a secret wish list of her perfect man, but after a string of dating disasters, that list ends up in the bin….Only to be discovered by her sexy boss!

Tray Elliott can't work out why his beautiful, intelligent colleague would need to put together such a list, but it intrigues him. A man like him would never admit his own secret desire for a family—but this boss has a pregnancy proposal that Lianne might not be able to resist….

In a flash of lightning, Count Pietro Bagnelli sees a young woman standing outside his palazzo, a battered suitcase at her feet. This solitary count has turned his back on the world, but he can't turn his back on this bedraggled waif….

Ruth has returned to Venice to uncover lost memories, yet finds comfort with this proudly damaged count. As Carnivale sweeps through the city, drama and passion ignite and secrets unravel….

For wedding-dress designer Serena James, nothing less than perfect will do—and that applies to finding Mr. Right! Her pilot, Kane Wiley, doesn't meet any of the criteria…apart from being drop-dead gorgeous!

Kane feels most at home in the skies. For this drifter, no commitment means freedom. But while flying Serena to a wedding convention, Kane is forced to perform a crash landing!

They might be chalk and cheese, but, stranded together, there's no denying the chemistry. And it's going to be a while before their SOS is answered….

Princess Shoshauna of B'Ranasha has followed royal convention all her life. Her greatest wish is freedom—and to marry for love, not duty.

A royal assignment: Suddenly in danger, Shoshauna is whisked to an exotic island by soldier Jake Ronan. He's been hired to protect her, and despite the attraction makes it clear he's here for duty, not love….

Her wedding wish: Being with Jake, Shoshauna feels truly happy and free for the first time. But can she dream of herself, a royal, marrying this hardened soldier?

Brock Sullivan is a navy SEAL—he lives by his own code of honor and he won't see Jesse, pregnant and alone, struggle. He doesn't have to help her, but he knows he can offer her security while he's away fighting for his country. The proposal is convenient and the marriage—paper only!

Jesse would do anything for her baby, even if it means signing away her own dreams of happily ever after and becoming Brock's convenient bride. But, injured in battle, Brock is suddenly home, and what was a simple marriage of convenience is now becoming a whole lot more complicated.